This invention relates to a method of displaying a three-dimensional object for use in a computer aided design (CAD).
Various three-dimensional display systems are conventionally put to practical use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,546 discloses a technique for observing a three-dimensional display in which the observer is positioned at the interior of the three-dimensional display on a disk, which is obliquely mounted on a rotating shaft to rotate around the rotating shaft or a hollow and transparent cylinder, and observes the display looking outwardly therefrom.
However, the above-mentioned prior art has the disadvantages that it is impossible to simultaneously display both the outside and the inside of a three-dimensional object and to display the three-dimensional object without complicated operations so that the observer intuitively recognizes the display.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional display method, a three-dimensional display system, and a recording medium for recording a three-dimensional display program, each of which is capable of simultaneously displaying both the outside and the inside of a three-dimensional object.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional display method, a three-dimensional display system, and a recording medium for recording a three-dimensional display program, each of which is capable of displaying the three-dimensional object without complicated operations so that the observer intuitively recognizes the display.
Other objects of this invention will become clear as the description proceeds.
According to an aspect of this invention, a method is for displaying a three-dimensional object having a hollow shell and comprising at least one internal object inside the hollow shell. The method comprises the steps of extracting, as an extracted shell part, a part of the hollow shell that is opposed to an observing point which lies outside the three-dimensional object and of displaying the three-dimensional object so as to see the inside of the three-dimensional object through the extracted shell part.
According to another aspect of this invention, a method is for displaying a three-dimensional object having a hollow shell and comprising at least one internal object inside the hollow shell. The method comprises the steps of extracting, as an extracted shell part, a part of the hollow shell that is opposed to an observing point which lies outside of the three-dimensional object and of displaying the three-dimensional object so as to make the extracted shell part transparent.
According to still another aspect of this invention, a recording medium is for recording a three-dimensional display program which makes a computer execute a processing of displaying a three-dimensional object having a hollow shell and comprising at least one internal object inside the hollow shell. The recording medium records the three-dimensional display program which makes the computer execute the processing of extracting, as an extracted shell part, a part of the hollow shell that is opposed to an observing point which lies outside of the three-dimensional object and of displaying the three-dimensional object so as to see the inside of the three-dimensional object through the extracted shell part.
According to yet another aspect of this invention, a recording medium is for recording a three-dimensional display program which makes a computer execute a processing of displaying a three-dimensional object having a hollow shell and comprising at least one internal object inside the hollow shell. The recording medium records the three-dimensional display program which makes the computer execute the processing of extracting, as an extracted shell part, a part of the hollow shell that is opposed to an observing point which lies in the outside of the three-dimensional object and of displaying the three-dimensional object so as to make the extracted shell part transparent.
According to a further aspect of this invention, a three-dimensional display system is for displaying a three-dimensional object having a hollow shell and comprising at least one internal object inside the hollow shell. The three-dimensional display system comprises extracting means for extracting, as an extracted shell part, a part of the hollow shell that is opposed to an observing point which lies in the outside of the three-dimensional object. Connected to the extracting means, displaying means is for displaying the three-dimensional object so as to see the inside of the three-dimensional object through the extracted shell part.
According to a still further aspect of this invention, a three-dimensional display system is for displaying a three-dimensional object having a hollow shell and comprising at least one internal object inside the hollow shell. The three-dimensional display system comprises extracting means for extracting, as an extracted shell part, a part of the hollow shell that is opposed to an observing point which lies outside of the three-dimensional object. Connected to the extracting means, displaying means is for displaying the three-dimensional object so as to make the extracted shell part transparent.